Soap holder



June 23, 1959 2,891,348

L. BLAGG SOAP HOLDER Filed March 24, 1958 L eon fi/ayy INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent This invention relates to a soap holdingdevice, and

particularly to a vacuum cup device adapted for attach- 1 ment to washbasins, bathtubs and similar fixtures which will permit a bar of soap,whether wet or dry, to be held firmly and readily available to a user.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a suction cupholder for a bar of soap which will not only effectively grip the soap,but which also provides means for collecting the drippings from a wetbar of soap and automatically purging them from the holder each time thebar of soap is placed on the holder.

An important object is the provision of a soap holder which includes asuction cup supported on a resiliently deformable chamber, the bottom ofthe cup being provided with a passageway communicating with the interiorof the chamber to permit drainage ofsoap drippings from the suction cupinto the chamber. The latter is provided at a low point therein withoutwardly opening check valve means through which drippings collectinginthe chamber will automatically be discharged under compression of thechamber produced by pressing the soap down on the suction cup when thesoap is placed thereon.

Other and more specific objects and advantages of this invention willbecome more readily apparent from/the following detailed descriptionwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing which illustratestwo useful embodiments in accordance with this invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of a holder in accordance with oneembodiment of this invention, the drippings discharge valve being shownin the closed position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the holder, looking downwardly along line 22 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the holder in the compressedposition at which the drippings valve is opened;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of holder, thedrippings valve being of a slightly different form, shown in the closedposition in solid lines and in the open position in broken lines; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view looking downwardly along line 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, the holder is designated generally by thenumeral 10 and is shown mounted on a bracket 11, which may be of anysuitable form or shape, adapted to support the soap holder from a wallor from any suitable fixture, such as a sink, wash basin, bathtub, orthe like. Bracket 11 carries an upwardly extending stud 12, having ahead 13 by which holder 10 is secured to the bracket, as will besubsequently described. The soap holder, itself, comprises an upwardlyfacing, generally circular cup portion 14, of the usual suction cup formhaving a relatively soft peripheral lip 15, which is adapted to beengaged with a bar of soap S which is to be held by the holder. Cupportion 14 is mounted on top of, and ordinarily integrally formed with,a deformable casing 16 of generally annular or spheroidal shapeenclosing a chamber 17. Casing 16 has a bottom wall 18 provided ice witha central opening .19 adapted to receive stud 12. Head 13 of the studserves to clamp the portion of wall 18 surrounding opening .19 againstbracket .11 to thereby secure the holder to the bracket. A centralpassageway 20 provides communication between the interior of chamber 17,and the bottom 21 of cup portion 14 and serves as a drain passagethrough which drippings from soap S will drain into the interior ofchamber 17. A normally closed slit-type check valve 21 is provided inbottom wall 18 through which drippings accumulating in the interior ofchamber 17 may be discharged from the chamber.

Casing 16 and cup portion 14 are constructed of rubber or similarflexible, resilient material, and are preferably integrally formed asillustrated. It will be understood, however, that cup portion 14 andcasing 16 may be separately formed and connected together in anysuitable and generally conventional manner to provide a structureequivalent in function to that illustrated. Slit-type check valve 22 isformed in a generally conventional manner by providing a slit in theflexible wall of the casing. When the casing is subjected to externalcompression, the resulting deformation of its walls will distend andseparate the wall portions defining the slit, thus opening the valve.Relief of the pressure on the casing will, by reason of the resilienceof its walls, allow the distended wall portions to retract and seal withone another to close the valve against inflow of air from the exteriorof the casing. 1

The above-described holder operates as follows: When a bar of soap ispressed downwardly on lip 15 of the cup portion, the mouth of the cupportion is sealed and the downward pressure will deform casing 16 andforce valve 22 to the open position (Fig. 3), discharging air from theinterior of chamber 17. As the downward pressure is relieved while thebar of soap remains in sealed engagement with lip 15, valve 22 closesagainst inflow of air and upon the expansion of casing 16 to its initialform, a vacuum is created in the interior of chamber 17, passageway 20,and the interior of cup portion 14 of the holder. This vacuum, ofcourse, serves to hold soap S in place on the holder. It will be'seenthat the downward pressure applied to the soap, when pressing'it on theholder, will serve not only to open check valve 22, but to cause thedischarge through the open check valve of any drippings from the soapwhich have collected in the interior of chamber 17, the drippings havingdrained downwardly from the cup portion .14 through passageway 20 intothe interior of chamber 17.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate another modification of a holder embodying theprinciples of the structure illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 anddescribed above. In Figs. 4 and 5, a casing 16a, of the same generalshape as casing 16, encloses a chamber 17a and is provided with a bottomwall 18a having the central opening 19a to receive the clamping stud12a, which is modified slightly from that shown in Figs. 1 to 3, toprovide a longitudinally extending arcuate slot 23 along one sidethereof, the slot being closed at its upper end by the overhangingportion 25 of head 13a. The segment of bottom wall 18a which is inregistration with slot 23 serves as an outwardly opening, normallyclosed, flap-type check valve 24 in that when there is no deformingpressure on casing 16a, valve 24 will be retracted by the resilience ofbottom wall 18a and will lie flat against the under surface 25 of head13a of the mounting stud. The position of valve 24, when casing 16a iscompressed downwardly in response to pressure from the passing of thesoap on cup portion 14a, is shown in broken lines in Fig. 4 to indicatethe open position of the check valve in response to the compression ofcasing 16a. Slot 23 forms a recess in the exterior of stud 12a whichprovides clearance suflicient to permit the opening and closing movementof segment 24. Lip 15a, which defines the upper periphery of cup portion14a, may be v 3 made in the oval or elliptical shape shown best in Fig.5, in order to accommodate soap bars of oval shape and to permitmaintenance of sealing engagement with bars of soap as the latter arereduced in width through use. It will be understood, of course, that cupportion 14a.may also be circular, as in the modification illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2, and that cup portion 14 may be of the shape illustratedin Figs. 4 and 5.

The operation of the modification illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 issubstantially the same as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. When the bar ofsoap is placed on lip 15a and pressed downwardly slightly, the resultingpressure compresses casing 16a and opens the check valve formed by flapvalve 24 to discharge air and drippings from the interior of chamber 17athrough slot 23. When the pressure on casing 16a is relieved, theresulting retraction of the casing will permit flap valve 24 to retractagainst the undersurface 25 of head 13a and close the valve. Theresulting expansion of chamber 17a will reduce the pres sure inside cupportion 14a and provide the suction sufficient to secure the soap inplace on the holder.

It will be understood that various alterations and modifications may bemade in the details of the illustrative embodiments within the scope ofthe appended claims, but without departing from the spirit of thisinvention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilientwalls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformablechamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, apassageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior ofthe chamber, and normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means inthe bottom wall of said casing communicating with said chamber.

' 2. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexibleresilient walls including a bottom wall defining a closed resilientlydeformable chamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top ofthe casing and integral therewith, a passageway connecting the bottom ofthe suction cup with the interior of the chamber, and normally closed,outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of the casingcommunicating with said chamber.

3. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilientwalls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformablechamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, apassageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior ofthe chamber, and normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means inthe bottom wall of the casing communicating with said chamber, saidvalve means comprising a slit distendible to open position bycompression of said casing.

4. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilientwalls including a bottom wall defining a closed resiliently deformablechamber, an upwardly opening suction cup mounted on top of the casing, apassageway connecting the bottom of the suction cup with the interior ofthe chamber, normally closed, outwardly opening check valve means in thebottom wall of said casing communicating with said chamber, and bracketmeans secured to the bottom wall of said casing to support said holderin an upright position.

5. A soap holder, comprising, a hollow casing having flexible resilientwalls defining a resiliently deformable chamber, an upwardly openingsuction cup mounted on top of the casing, a passageway connecting thebottom of the suction cup with the interior of the chamber, and normallyclosed, outwardly opening check valve means in the bottom wall of saidcasing communicating with said chamber, and means adapted to supportsaid holder in an upright position, said means including a bracket, anupwardly extending stud secured to the bracket and receivable in anopening in said bottom wall of the casing, said stud having an enlargedhead adapted to clamp the edge portion of the bottom wall defining saidopening to the bracket.

6. A soap holder according to claim 5, wherein said check valve meanscomprises a segment of said edge portion retractably engaging theundersurface of said head, and a recess in the exterior of said stud inregistration with said segment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS930,236 Schacht Aug. 3, 1909 1,228,649 Childs June 5, 1917 2,194,997Butler Mar. 26, 1940 2,385,977 Farmer Oct. 2, 1945

